Arrowroot - powder

Quick Overview

Arrowroot is gluten free, easily digested and quite nourishing. This is a whole food because it's not refined; it's simply the dried and powdered root. When heated in water, it thickens, making it an excellent thickening agent for gravies, sauces and pastries.

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Arrowroot is a nutritious, easy to digest, superior carbohydrate (vital for the proper ph balance). It's health-building properties may be due to the calcium, and trace mineral content. It soothes uneasy stomachs and alleviates diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.

This is a whole food because it's not refined; it's simply the dried and powdered root. When heated in water, it thickens, making it an excellent thickening agent for gravies, sauces and pastries. It will not make the sauce cloudy, as will cornstarch, flour or other starchy thickening agents. Arrowroot is gluten-free. Sourced from Nourishing Traditions.

Often used to effectively treat digestive complaints, many of us have learned to keep Arrowroot powder on hand for the unexpected upset stomach or diarrhea. It soothes the digestive track bringing an end to any "storm" that's brewing.

Arrowroot is gluten free, easily digested and quite nourishing. A great choice for a hot cereal for children and the elderly alike.

Arrowroot is not just a healthier choice as a thickener relative to constarch. There are many other ways to use this powdered tropical root, and here are just a few:

1. Add Arrowroot to your homemade Ice creamAnyone that has made ice cream at home knows how rock hard it can get in the freezer. It also forms crystals that make it seem like it's been sitting in the freezer for months rather than days. Add a little Arrowroot to your ice cream recipes for more managable scooping and smoother texture.

2. Mix Arrowroot with home-ground flourWe all know that store bought flour is lacking the nourishment it once had when it was first ground. But hardly any flour made at home compares with the store bought stuff. If that is how you feel about it too, try mixing some Arrowroot with your home-ground flours next time you bake a cake. You'll be surpriced how much more like the store bought flour it will be. For every cup of flour called for in a cake recipe, I substitute 3/4 cup hard white wheat flour plus 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot powder (sift together with a fine mesh strainer). I use this with muffins and scones, too.

Tidbits You'll Want to Know:

Uses: We use Arrowroot as a thickener and to increase nutrition in many food recipes. We particularly like it in sauces, gravies, vegetable and meat dishes, ice cream, and cereals. It's an excellent thickener that adds nourishment to your dishes versus cornstarch which is highly processed. Elena's Pantry happens to also make frequent use of it too.

Voice of Experience: To use arrowroot powder as a thickener, mix equal parts of powder and cold (or room temperature) liquid to form a slurry. Then, stir it into your warm or hot liquid for about 30 seconds until blended. You'll want to remove it from the heat quickly because over heating tends to diminish arrowroot's thickening properties. One tablespoon of arrowroot will thicken about one cup of liquid. In baking, use 1 part arrowroot for about 2 parts flour.

Storage: Like many other bulk foods, Arrowroot stores fairly well. It should be kept in an airtight container and stored in a dark, dry, and cool place. We keep ours by the spices in the kitchen. It is recommended to store all food based products in the freezer for one week upon arrival.